Spring guide washer

ABSTRACT

A spray head adapted for connection to a supply of washing liquid under pressure, such as a water-filled syringe, the spray head having a hole through which a spring guide may be drawn and a plurality of jet openings through which streams of liquid can be projected from several directions toward a point of convergence located in the path of the spring guide and adjacent one end of the hole through which it is passed.

United States Patent m1 Ayella lMfllCh 20, 1973 [54] SPRING GUIDE WASHER [75] Inventor: Robert J. Ayella, Lutherville, Md.

[73] Assignee: United States Catheter and Instrument Corporation, Glen Falls, NY.

[22] Filed: April 1,1971 21 Appl.No.: 134,097

[52] US. Cl. ..134/l22, 128/2 M, 134/199 [51] Int. Cl ..B08b 3/02, B08b l l/OO [58] Field of Search ..l34/64, 100, 122, 199, 9, l5; 128/2 M 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,623,532 11/1971 Coferetal ..l34/64X 2,622,606 '12/1952 Skivesen ..l34/l22 3/1940 Moss ..l34/l5 2,623,531 12/1952 Waddington et al. ..l34/l22 3 270,364 9/1966 Steele 1 34/122 X Primary Examinefl-Robert L. Bleutge Att0mey-W. Saxton Seward and Chester E. Martine, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A spray head adapted for connection to a supply of washing liquid under pressure, such as a water-filled syringe, the spray head having a hole through which a spring guide may be drawn and a plurality of jet openings through which streams of liquid can be projected from several directions toward a point of convergence located in the path of the spring guide and adjacent one end of the hole through which it ispassed.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMARZOIHH INVENTOR. ROBERT J. AYE LLA SPRING GUIDE WASHER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In surgical operative procedures, particularly those in the cardio-vascular field, it is common to introduce into blood vessels elongated flexible metal devices called spring guides. One or more such guides may be used in carrying out a single technique, and one or more of the guides may have to be wholly or partially withdrawn and reintroduced. When a guide is withdrawn from a vessel it is necessarily more or less covered with blood and/or other body fluids which should be removed before reintroduction or re-use, and it is common to wipe the accessible surface of the guide with gauze, cotton or other material. While such wiping usually removes most of the fluid, there is the danger that particles of lint or the like may be deposited on the guide and thus introduced into the body, which is undesirable and possibly dangerous.

The washing device disclosed here is designed to rinse thoroughly all the accessible surface of the guide, in a very simple and rapid manner and with a minimum ofliquid spillage, the washer comprising a jet head with a passage for the spring guide, and a liquid source such as a syringe.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of the spray head with syringe engaged;

FIG. 2 represents an elevation of spraying face of the spray head;

FIG. 3 represents a vertical section of the spray head on the line IIIIII of FIG. 2

FIG. 4 represents an exploded vertical axial section of a modified form of spray head;

FIG. 5 represents a plan view of the lower element in FIG. 4, looking from the line V-V; and

FIG. 6 represents a vertical axial section of the parts shown in FIG. 4, in assembled position.

Referring to the drawing, the spray head 10 is constituted by a cylindrical body wall 11, a frusto-conical inwardly extending funnel 12, a spring guide centering plug 13, and a back cover plate 14. The interior walls of the body 11, funnel 12 and plate 14 define an annular liquid manifold 15, to which the washing liquid may be supplied through the fitting 16.

The plug 13 includes a conical projection 17 extending into the space within the funnel l2 and a bore 18 extends axially through the plug, said bore being of a size to accomodate freely all sizes of spring guides to which the washer is applicable.

The funnel 12 is provided with a plurality (e.g. eight) of small jet openings or nozzles 19 the axes of which converge at a point P on the axis of the bore 18 adjacent to, but spaced from, the peak of the projection In use, the tip 20 of a syringe 21 loaded with a washing liquid is engaged with the fitting 16, one end of a spring guide is passed into the bore 18 to project therefrom at the point P, and liquid is forced from the syringe into the manifold and thence out through the jet openings 19, as the guide is pulled or pushed past the point P in one or both directions. The jets of liquid converging at P have a very effective washing action as they are forced to change direction at that point by contact with each other and with the surface of the guide, causing a forward jet of liquid away from point P.

Assuming that the Seldinger percutaneous technique is being followed, the puncture needle is withdrawn from the patient and removed from the guide wire, the wire is threaded into the central axial hole of the washer, and the latter is pushed along the wire up to the patients skin. The washer is then moved quickly along the length of the guide wire while sterile saline-heparin solution is injected into the washer from a syringe. This normally requires about 15cc. of solution, and the exposed guide wire will be completely freed of the blood which may have been deposited on it, e.g., by the withdrawal of the needle. At a later stage, when the guide wire is removed from the catheter, it is again cleaned from end to end by means of the washer.

The spray head shown in FIGS. 1 to 13 is designed to be made of metal (e.g. stainless steel) with the several parts press fitted, welded or soldered together. A functionally similar device can be of molded plastic material as illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, wherein the cylindrical wall 25 and funnel 26 (corresponding to wall 11 and funnel 12) are conveniently made in one piece, while the plug 27 and back plate 28 (corresponding to plug 13 and plate 14) are combined in a second piece, through which extends the bore 29 for passage of the spring guide to be washed. Jet openings or nozzles 30 are formed as radially disposed grooves across the inner edge of the funnel 26, each being completed by an adjacent part of the conical end surface of the plug 27. The point at which the axes of the openings or nozzles 30 converge can be determined by suitably selecting the angle of the respective grooves and of the adjacent end surface of the plug with respect to the axis of the bore 29.

The molded plastic parts of FIGS. 4 to 6 can be cemented together or welded by ultrasonic means as shown in FIG. 6, wherein the inner surfaces of wall 25, funnel 26 and plate 28, together with the cylindrical side surface of plug 27 define the annular manifold 32. A suitable fitting (not shown) to receive a syringe or the like can be attached as by screwing into the hole 33 in the wall 25, so that washing liquid can be supplied to the manifold 32 and thence to the jet openings or nozzles 30.

The best washing action appears to result from impingement of the several jets on the guide wire surface at angles of less than and at a point spaced slightly from the peak of the conical portion 17, as shown in FIG. 3.

Thus, considering that the jet nozzles 19 or 30 are located in a medial plane of the spray head, they are so angled with respect to said plane that the point of intersection P is outside of said plane.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the structure, material and precise arrangement of the several parts of the washer without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and hence, I do not intend the coverage of the patent to be limited to the details hereinabove described except as the same may be included in the claims or be required by disclosure of the prior art.

What I claim is:

1. A spray head for washing body fluids from the surfaces of spring guides comprising a cylindrical spray head body portion, a guide plug fixed within said body portion and having an axial bore and a frusto-conic surface adjacent one end of said bore, a liquid distributing manifold within said body portion and surrounding said guide plug, a plurality of jet nozzles in communication with said manifold and disposed with their axes intersecting at a point in space outside of a plane containing said nozzles, said point being on the axis of said bore, the diameter of said bore being substantially smaller than the diameter of a circle passing through said nozzles and of a size to permit free passage of a spring guide, and a fitting in said body portion adapted to en- 

1. A spray head for washing body fluids from the surfaces of spring guides comprising a cylindrical spray head body portion, a guide plug fixed within said body portion and having an axial bore and a frusto-conic surface adjacent one end of said bore, a liquid distributing manifold within said body portion and surrounding said guide plug, a plurality of jet nozzles in communication with said manifold and disposed with their axes intersecting at a point in space outside of a plane containing said nozzles, said point being on the axis of said bore, the diameter of said bore being substantially smaller than the diameter of a circle passing through said nozzles and of a size to permit free passage of a spring guide, and a fitting in said body portion adapted to engage a source of washing liquid.
 2. A spray head according to claim 1 in which said manifold is defined in part by an inner frusto-conic wall element, the jet nozzles being constituted by holes in said wall element.
 3. A spray head according to claim 2 in which the plug has a conical surface portion, the outer margin of said conical surface portion intersecting a surface of the frusto-conic wall portion and the axes of said holes lying in directions which are parallel to and spaced from said conical surface portion. 